New Applied Finance Institute Launches Fellowships at Tobin

A new opportunity is available for finance students at the Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University. The school has created the Applied Finance Institute (AFI) to provide fellowships to some of the school’s brightest undergraduate and graduate finance students.

Economics and Finance Professor and Alois J. Theis Endowed Chair in Global Finance Anna Martin is behind the Institute, per a new press release. She joined the Tobin College of Busines in 2006, but her experience dates way back. Her first noted research article was published in the Financial Review in 1999.

Martin knows that the secret to success includes real-world experience and serious data—two major components of her teaching style. And she’ll be bringing that into the institute, too. The institute would provide fellows with applied finance experiences, as well as industry certifications like Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Such certifications would make students competitive candidates when seeking jobs.

“It is important to explain the way finance works in theory, but it’s also important for students to experience what finance research shows and what the data actually reveal,” Martin said. “AFI emphasizes REAL finance–relevance, experience, application, and learning.”

If a student gets in, the Institute will sponsor their prep course and study materials for the CFA exam. It’ll also sponsor any research ideas that “bridge theory and practice,” as the press release puts it. Fellows have the opportunity to apply for scholarships through the Institute to study abroad in London and attend the Global Asset Management Education Forum. They can also participate in competitions like the ETF Global Portfolio Challenge and the ACG Cup.

The AFI is open to all students in the MS Finance program, students with a finance concentration for their MBA, and undergraduates majoring or minoring in finance.